Prompt 3:
A Matter of Style
Chose one of the prompts below:
During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period? Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
I have not worked with the class yet, in part due to NECAP interruption to normal schedule. I am writing to my CT to request / arrange this opportunity. I did observe a lab and will discuss that here.
The lab examined projectile motion, which had been covered in a previous lecture, practice problems, and homework,
which had also been reviewed in class. During the original lecture and the reviews, the teacher had reinforced the ideas by simply tossing a ball, to illustrate for example, motion straight up then down, or along a parabolic path.
Students now understood that the distance, or range of a projectile depended on the launch angle, and that there was a best angle, at which the time aloft and horizontal speed combined for furthest distance.
So the students were familiar with the concepts and the equations, and the lab would let them experience setting up a controlled situation, and performing measurements, and to appreciate that taking measurements is often harder than expected.
Lab groups (and class work groups) are arranged by the teacher, not self-selected.
If these seem to be limited goals, remember that it was early in the school year, and students needed to become familiar with doing lab work, working in groups, cleaning up, and producing a report.
It was not expected to reveal anything new, or to raise possible lines of inquiry. I think I would like to reverse the order, doing the lab first to determine the optimum angle, and then follow with analysis. I think it could still serve the introductory purposes listed above, and bring in an element of inquiry as well.
(When I had the opportunity to do a pendulum lab in a Physics First class, I asked the students what factors might perhaps determine the speed of a pendulum. We listed the weight, the initial angle or speed of a push, and the length of string.
I then had them vary all of these, one at a time, and analyze the results by drawing graphs in their lab reports.
When we discovered that weight and speed were not factors but length was, I began the lecture on pendulum motion, and pointed out that a greater mass provides a greater restoring force, but also exactly needs that force for the same motion.)
A Matter of Style
Chose one of the prompts below:
I have not worked with the class yet, in part due to NECAP interruption to normal schedule. I am writing to my CT to request / arrange this opportunity. I did observe a lab and will discuss that here.
The lab examined projectile motion, which had been covered in a previous lecture, practice problems, and homework,
which had also been reviewed in class. During the original lecture and the reviews, the teacher had reinforced the ideas by simply tossing a ball, to illustrate for example, motion straight up then down, or along a parabolic path.
Students now understood that the distance, or range of a projectile depended on the launch angle, and that there was a best angle, at which the time aloft and horizontal speed combined for furthest distance.
So the students were familiar with the concepts and the equations, and the lab would let them experience setting up a controlled situation, and performing measurements, and to appreciate that taking measurements is often harder than expected.
Lab groups (and class work groups) are arranged by the teacher, not self-selected.
If these seem to be limited goals, remember that it was early in the school year, and students needed to become familiar with doing lab work, working in groups, cleaning up, and producing a report.
It was not expected to reveal anything new, or to raise possible lines of inquiry. I think I would like to reverse the order, doing the lab first to determine the optimum angle, and then follow with analysis. I think it could still serve the introductory purposes listed above, and bring in an element of inquiry as well.
(When I had the opportunity to do a pendulum lab in a Physics First class, I asked the students what factors might perhaps determine the speed of a pendulum. We listed the weight, the initial angle or speed of a push, and the length of string.
I then had them vary all of these, one at a time, and analyze the results by drawing graphs in their lab reports.
When we discovered that weight and speed were not factors but length was, I began the lecture on pendulum motion, and pointed out that a greater mass provides a greater restoring force, but also exactly needs that force for the same motion.)